Chapter Two: A Hole in the World

'Let the gentle, kindly phantoms

Haunt as they will;

We are not afraid of them'

-Jerome K. Jerome

Ulrich stared numbly at the screen for a long time. Yumi had walked out of his life while they were still in junior high, and it was something he'd had a hard time forgetting. He had never dated another girl, not seriously anyway. He hadn't dated Emily at least. He felt that he owed that to Yumi, like maybe if he didn't like Emily that Yumi would come back. Foolish, but such were the dreams of a young teen in love. He hadn't known it was love at the time; only years later had it dawned on him that he was and forever would be in love with the one girl he couldn't have. How painfully stupid, that the one who was forever with him had removed herself permenantly from his life.

And now she was back, in all her fury and glory. Had it not seen her with his own eyes, Ulrich would never have believed it. After all these years...

He rose and returned to his bedroom, sliding a black leather bag out from under his bed. he checks it's contents with an air of experience. Handcuffs, pager, gps locater, and a gun. A .38 revolver to be exact. He knew he could pack a more hefty weapon, but this gun suited him fine. The other painfully stupid fact of the situtaion, that he had to hunt her down. It seemed ironic.

Heading back through the house, he made certain to lock the door before he left. Not that a lock would stop anyone who really wanted to get in, but at least it was a minor barrier.

-----

Yumi swirled the straw around in the shirley temple. She always had enjoyed this particular sidewalk cafe, but today it didn't lift her spirits. Even the drink, a personal favorite (she always had loved cherry), failed to improve her mood. She was plotting her next move, and it seemed it would prove the most difficult heist yet. But what the boss demanded the boss got, and he paid far too well for Yumi to argue.

She knew it was lazy of her to be waiting until the day of the ruby's arrival to plan the robbery, but the stealing of the emerald the night before had left her tired. Yumi sighed, leaning back in the chair, deciding it was better to wait until the ruby was in possession of the government, then steal it. She didn't want to deal with the guards that drove armoured cars, too messy. Not her style anyway, she like stealth. It was easier to sneak into a vault than into a vehicle anyway.

-----

Ulrich pulled up to the curb in front of the small white building in his black Escalade. The sign above the door proclaimed 'Jack's Bail Bonding Company.' Pressing the button to lock the doors, Ulrich appraoched the building. There was no bell on the door to announce his arrival, but the secretary, a petite brunette named Jodie, looked up as he closed the door behind him. She gave him a pretty smile and greeted him warmly.

"Hello. I heard you caught Boomer last night. You're here for your percent of the cash then?"

Ulrich nodded, producing a reciept from his pocket. Tomas 'Boomer' Billington had been a simple FTA case, not much to it. It had been a long night though, and after a wild chase on foot through the bad side of town and turning Billington in to the police after one in the morning, Ulrich had gone home and flopped into bed. "Also, has any information come in for me?" The government usually used this office as a go-between to reach Ulrich and get information on his latest case to him, what wasn't sent through the odd newspaper or package, anyway. In all probability, all he would need to know on his latest target had already arrived.

Jodie handed him a check for $10,000.00. "As a matter of fact, yes. This arrived by fax this morning." She scooted the chair over to a large filing cabinet and opened the top drawer. She leafed through it for a moment, then pulled out a manilla folder with several papers in it. "Big case," she inqired as she handed it to Ulrich.

"Real big," he confirmed. Jodie never read the files herself, but was just curious enough to want to know if the case was one she might have heard about. She had of course, this case was plastered over every newspaper in the country. She'd have to be a hermit not to have heard about it, but Ulrich didn't tell her that.

Just then a door at the rear of the room opened and Jack emerged. Jack Jones was a small, plump man with a rosey comlexion and knowing eyes. "Ah, my favorite bounty hunter," Jack crowed merrily when he caught sight of Ulrich. "Off on a new case, no doubt."

Ulrich had flipped open the folder and was staring intensely at the top page. It had a photo clipped to it of his target. No denying it now, he mused. The woman in the photo was undoubtedly Yumi Ishiyama. The name on the sheet of paper under the picture confirmed this grim piece of information. She looked much the same was in junior high, but her hair was longer now, and she wore it pulled back. Jack's voice snapped Ulrich out of his reverie.

"You okay there, Ulrich," he asked. Ulrich shook his head to clear it.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks for the info." Ulrich turned on his heel and left as suddenly as he had entered.

-----

Yumi had resorted to stirring the ice around in the glass, as the shirley temple was long gone. The ruby was going to be kept in the New York National Bank (AN- It doesn't really exist, I think, but for story purposes, it does) until being put on display during some senator's speech in Central Park, scheduled to take place in three days. Her employer wanted it, along with the emerald from last night's robbery, the sapphire, the topaz, and the diamond delivered by the end of the week. Today was Tuesday, and she had all but the ruby. Each gem was the biggest and most perfect of it's kind, and stealing all of them had been no easy task.

So tonight was the night. She would strike just after the ruby had been safely locked away in the vault, snatch it and be out before anyone was the wiser.

Smugly, Yumi rose, leaving several dollars on the table to cover the bill and a tip.

-----

Ulrich collasped back onto his couch, pressing his face into the pillow for a good scream. Screaming can be therapudic, though it didn't seem to help him much.

He sat up, determinded to think this issue through. I am a bounty hunter, he told himself. My target is Yumi Ishiyama. Yumi is the girl I loved in junior high, and who walked out of my life for good. I should have no problems whatsoever bringing her in.

Besides, he reasoned, knowing her is a good thing. It's easier to predict someone if you know how they think. But a small nagging voice in the back of his head chided him. But I never predicted her leaving. I never saw that one coming. Or that she would leave angry at me. I have no idea how she thinks, what makes her tick. All I know is that her leaving created a void in my life. A hole in my world that no other girl ever filled.

For a while, he remembered, I would still hear her voice, still see her coming up the path to the school like a ghost coming back to mock me. Her presense was like a phantom, haunting his days and keeping him awake at night.

Ulrich took a deep calming breath and grabbed his bag off the floor. Duty called.